CrossFit Exercises You Should Be Doing

The Six CrossFit Exercises You Should Be Doing

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If you’re not a CrossFitter, you probably know a CrossFitter. And you’ve probably heard the foreign lingo about workouts and exercises. You’ve probably heard that it’s great or you’re heard that it’s dangerous and you’re probably going to get hurt if you pick up heavy things or move around too quickly.

OK if somehow you missed the craze, CrossFit is defined as constantly varied movement, usually done at high intensity and/or high volume. The sport that made a sport out of working out is usually performed in timed workouts with a fixed number of movements and including Olympic lifting movements like cleans and snatches as well as plyometric and bodyweight movements.

But here’s one thing that is true about CrossFit: the exercises aren’t brand new.

Even taking on a CrossFit workout seem intimidating – or just plain crazy, that doesn’t mean that because are exercises associated with Crossfit, cough er, burpees, cough, that you should avoid doing all together. By the way, CrossFit did not invent the clean and jerk or burpees or squats or pull-ups.

“You shouldn’t be lifting heavy weights if you don’t know how to lift weights. If you don’t know how to pull a barbell off the ground, you shouldn’t be deadlifting,” said Liz Adams, head CrossFit coach at ICE NYC. “CrossFit isn’t dangerous. People are dangerous.”

For example, Fran, one of the sports trademark workouts, is a workout couplet that consists of thrusters (a front squat into an overhead press) and pull-ups. Squats, overhead presses and pull-ups are all moves that you should include in your toolbox. But CrossFitters also perform a lot of kipping movements and there’s where you should be careful.

A lot of people don’t have the stability in their shoulders to do kipping pull-ups,” Adams said. “You don’t want to be kipping if you can do strict (conventional pull-ups). A lot of people that can’t do it correctly and you’ll see people swinging from the bar like a fish out of water. So you want to be under the watchful eye of a coach if you’re going to perform any of those more advanced gymnastic movements or Olympic lifting movements.”

Fine, whatever your reason, maybe you’re not ready to jump into a WOD, you can still plug these CrossFit-affiliated moves into your program.

Burpees

Burpees sit at the throne of bodyweight moves because it hits you everywhere and jacks your heart rate at the same time. There are lots of variations you can throw in to make burpees more difficult or modify the movement to scale down the intensity. But the concept is simple: get your chest on the ground then stand up, jump and clap at the top because every burpee completed is a victory onto itself.

Squats

“Everyone should squat regardless of what they do,” Adams said. Bodyweight squats will hit your legs hard but also assist with hip mobility. They’re also convenient. If you have enough space to sit down, you can bang out a set of squats wherever you are. Going at bodyweight also allows you to add volume and make them part of your cardio routine. Weighted back squats and front squats also require you to work your core. So yes, you can squat for six-pack abs too.

Box Jumps

Box jumps can get a bad rap because it can be difficult control the impact on landing, says Michael Ramirez, head coach at Reebok CrossFit Fifth Ave, but it’s one of his favorite plyometric moves. Leaping from the ground onto a box, or other elevated surface, activates your body’s fast twitch muscles to generate force and increases agility, athleticism and explosiveness. The higher you jump, the more muscles your body will recruit. And it burns fat fast.

Just be careful to set the box jump at a safe height, especially if you plan for high repetitions.

For how to do it, simply start with your feet at shoulder-width distance, shoot your hips back and bend your knees. Quickly jump vertically, landing with both feet firmly on the box and stand tall at the top. Be sure when jumping back down, to land with a slight bend in the knees to reduce the impact on your joints.

Thrusters

Thrusters are at the pinnacle of compound movements. Combing a front squat and an overhead press, thrusters might feel like a terrible decision when your lunges are on fire but if you want an efficient and effective way to hit every muscle in your body with one most, thrusters are basically a one-stop shop that you can perform with a barbell or a set of dumbbells.

Adams described it only slightly different: “Thrusters are soul-crushing, light or heavy. It’s a full body movement that jacks up the heart rate up, produces lactic acid and muscular fatigue and eventually leaves you on your back gasping for air.”

Pull-Ups

There are tons of pull-ups in CrossFit and there should be. Pull-ups are a tremendous upper body builder that increases strength and hits your arms, back, shoulders and core. But because a CrossFit workout might use them in high volume, many athletes element a kip or a butterfly kip either to accomplish more reps or to rip through them faster in timed workouts.

If you have issues with shoulder mobility or don’t have a coach making sure you’re practicing safe positioning, it’s best to stick to conventional pull-ups. Focus on keep your elbow inward and facing the floor. Pull your bodyweight up through your lats and focus on getting a full range of motion with your chin above the bar at the top and your arms straight at the bottom.

Ball Slams

One of the major draws of CrossFit is that results come quickly. The reason for that is because workouts usually involve compound movements done at high intensity, doing more and more work in less time. Ball slams develop strength, power and explosiveness. They work your core and hit your shoulders, arms, glutes, hamstrings and calves. Start standing with a medicine ball between your feet. Squat down with you chest raises to pick up the ball with both hands. Lift the ball above your head and slam it down violently. Retrieve the ball as it bounces in the same squat position and repeat.

Equipment We Recommend

Rep 3-In-1 Plyometric Box

If you're going to have a plyo box, it's important you have a sturdy one. It's also important that you've able to vary the height. This wooden box covers both issues with different boxes that offer three adjustable heights. Most CrossFit standard workouts prescribe heights of 30, 24 or 20 inches. The Rep box, which is suitable for box jump or step-ups can hold up to 400 pounds and only takes 10-15 minutes to assemble. $129.99 for 30/24/20 inch box at Amazon.com

Valor Fitness Slam Ball

There are tons of different types of medicine balls, but most aren't made to be slammed over and over. Valor's dense wall guards against breaks that leave sand running out your medicine ball and also don't bounce, which adds the extra effort of having to squat down (keep those heels planted) to retrieve the ball on those ball slams. $37.45 for a 20-pound ball at Amazon.com

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